right now at 4:00 details in the shooting of a chp officer. the final moments before gunfire erupted, and the latest on the officer's condition. also, the weather. thunder, lightning and rain. meteorologist jeff friendary lets us know if the stormy weather is sticking around. a big change in the life of 49ers head coach jim harbaugh. "nbc bay area news" starts now. good wednesday evening, everyone. >> we're on one hour early today because it's opening night of the nfl. the season kicks off in about 30 minutes. right now we have new details about the freeway shoot-out on 680. we know the suspect killed. he's a 38-year-old man with an arrest record. as for the officer who was shot,

kenny youngstrom a father of four remains on life support. monte joins us from walnut creek with the latest >> reporter: the suspect a 38-year-old man from corning, about 50 miles south of redding. he has no record except for a dui arrest, the big question that still remains is a motive. 38-year-old christopher boone lacey died shortly after arriving at john deere medical center yesterday morning. today an autopsy found his cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. inside his jeep wrangler investigators found a loaded glock semi-automatic handgun, two loaded magazines and a knife. at his residence in corning, investigators carried out a search warrant and confiscated six computers. >> we've been told he keeps to

himself and he's a loaner. at this point as far as a motive why he shot the officer, we're still working on it. >> sheriff's officials cleared up confusion about events that led to the shooting. he responded to a call about a dead deer on the freeway and was pulled over on 680 when his partner in a separate chp car radioed that he was going to pull over a jeep wrangler for having expired plates. youngstrom saw the wrangler approaching and waved the driver over to the side of the road. at that point juhe approached t car and had a brief conversation and without warning officials say the driver shot youngstrom in the head. >> his partner who was approaching from the rear heard the gunshot, saw his partner go down, withdrew his service weapon and shot at the jeep striking lacey critically.

>> reporter: meanwhile officer youngstrom remains at john deere medical center in walnut creek where the married father of four is listed in critical condition. the seven-year veteran suffered a gunshot wound to the head and is life support. at the field office where he works members came by this morning holding flags and some left flowers. >> the gentleman got up to do his work, to make a living for his family, and he doesn't get to go home to them yet. we're hoping that he does get to go home to them. >> reporter: as the investigation now focuses on a motive, the suspect's parents who live in oregon are now on their way to the bay area to be interviewed by sheriff's deputies. a vigil for the officer is planned in fairfield at 7:00 tonight. live in walnut creek, "nbc bay area news." the shooting is a he sobering reminder about the danger of police work. officers are quick to tell you

there's no such thing as a routine traffic stop. even officer youngstrom has had a previous incident in which a suspect rammed his car and fled during a traffic stop. it happens more often than you think. damien has been pouring over statistics from the fbi and joins us. >> any officer will tell you they leave home every day not knowing if they will make it home after work. a few jobs are like that, but the numbers are troubling. the fbi reviewed data from three h thre three-quarters nationwide, and here's what they found. from 2000 to 2010 more than 25,554 have been injured. officers confronted with a gun making a stop or during a pursuit was 9.5%. in california since the year 2000 four chp officers have died of gunshot wounds and five

others injured in gun-related violence. the latest incidence was in may of this year in bakersfield. i got an e-mail from joseph mack na mara. he said this shooting is rare and troubling where no drubls or alcohol were involved. that is yet to be determined by the coroner. nbc by area news. in other news tonight conflicting news conferences in a vallejo today where the family publicly challenged the police department aeps account what happened. the mother claims officers shot her son while he was just sitting in his car outside his home. inside police headquarters police showed off a pellet gun like the one they say he reached for when officers shot him. it's designed to a resem blel a.p.40 caliber baretta. they're popular with convicted felons to impress rivals. >> also individuals on probation

know if they're caught with an actual firearm they're going back to prison. individuals who commit crimes with a firearm know there are steers consequences by way of criminal enhancements to add five or ten years to a prison sentence if convicted. >> there have been seven officer involved shooting this year. they're raising questions about the use of so many uch deadly force. more problems for 'em battled former supervisor nadya lock year. the 41-year-old is facing a felony drug charge and a child endangerment charge. this was after police went to a home in orange county lass week where they were visited. officers found meth and drug paraphernalia inside the home. a spokes woman with the district attorney's office said she showed signs of being under the influence of drugs. she reportedly entered a not guilty plea on august 30th and was released. she resigned in april after an alternation with her long-time lover who exposed an affair and

her addiction to drugs. sierra lamar is back in the headlines thanks to a congresswoman. she visited the search center this morning. she took part in the blessing before today's volunteer search. the 15-year-old lamar disappeared on her way to school six months ago. police have arrested a suspect in her murder, but lamar's body has not been found. >> as i drove in here today, i saw little children going off to school. and it drives home the fact that as a community we need to stand together, keep our children safe. >> meanwhile, volunteers, friends and family of sierra lamar will hold a vigil tonight to raise money for their continuing search efforts that begin at 7:00. now to decision 2012, and day two of the democratic national convention. tonight america's 42nd president bill clinton will take the

podium to officially nominate president barack obama. it's a dramatic shift from four years ago when he campaigned furiously for his wife. steve is live with more for us. good evening, steve. >> reporter: let's go back four years ago to talk about a change that will look pretty different that they've had to make today. four years ago when barack obama gave his first acceptance speech, it was grand, some said grand yois, outdoors at mile high stadium in denver. this year these democrats dream and hope that something similar, and without it they say it can't happen. president obama arrived in charlotte as the news spread. he'll give a speech thursday night, the high point of the dnc, in the main convention venue, time warner arena, not in bank of america stadium that's three times larger but exposed. the chance of rain is 30% to 40%.

>> clearly team obama felt that having this thing drenched in a thunderstorm outweighed the benefits they got in denver for a big outdoor crowd. clint eastwood showed them when it's undercut by circumstances. >> reporter: republicans charge democrats just couldn't fill the stadium. >> i think it also has more to do with attendance rather than precipitation. >> a democratic delegate says she was pestered for tickets. >> messages, phone calls, e-mails coming from everyone i know across the united states. i know they could have filled the seats. >> reporter: with the stadium event canceled, thousands who waited in line for seats are out of luck thursday. >> i got my tickets and i was so excited. i waited four hours in line for it to just be denied. >> tonight popular former president bill clinton gives the main speech. he's differed with president obama on issues like hiking taxes on the rich, but he'll

make the case for obama re-election. >> explain why i think his approach is right, and it will pay off if we renew his contract. >> reporter: thousands of democrats who hold ticket force the stadium event tomorrow night can't fit in here got good news. they said they'd give him other seats to see the president in person some other team in the near future leaving convention planners with one big issue. how do they end it way bang? they can't have a balloon drop. there's no balloons up there and no time to get them into the rafters here at the time warner arena in charlotte. back to you. >> thank you, steve. should be an interesting night at the dnc. back here at home, it's odd. the weather, thunder, hail and lightning. going to work or school this moshg, take a look. look familiar? windshield wipers in full effect. brief spurts of rain for most of us in the bay area. there's thunder on the peninsula and in the south bay and lightning strikes in the hills above downtown santa cruz. aas for wine country, nothing is

going to slow down the harvest. this is one of the best times of year. workers were called in at 10:00 last night and worked through the night until 8:00 this morning. the napa valley grape growers organized this event to kick off the 2012 harvest, and they'll be crushed, fermentmeed and bottle and sold. those workers finished up in time to dodge today's thunderstorm. our chief meteorologist jeff fra neary. >> we've been tracking this for about six days, and here it is moving across the bay area right now. a decent dosing this morning, and now the raise dar is fired up again. areaed of isolated activity that led to at least 60 lightning strikes mainly in the south and east bay. also some dime-sized hail reported in morgan hill this morning and some of the brief downpours to trace amounts to

0.05 of an inch. ilts juicy in the south bay and a few lightning strikes in the past 15 to 30 minutes south of downtown san jose. you know who you are if you hear that outside just to the north here of robertsville, also over highway 87. this will be moving into downtown san jose over the next 15 to 30 minutes. if you're near the lightning strikes again, best advice is to stay indoors. lightning is one of the leading killers when it comes to weather. back here across the valley, some moderate rain across 280 and also highway 101 and some heavier rainier dylan beach that will impact santa rosa tonight. you can see the nature of what we're dealing with scattered in nature, and here's the risk of severe weather. all the areas in green are under the threat of some severe weather as we continue through tonight. we will track it for you coming up in the seven-day forecast. >> thanks, jeff. still to come on this special edition of "bay area news" at 4:00, one of the most popular video game gets a

facelift. with the pressure on, zinga launches farmville part 2. coming up an exclusive behind the scenes look how the game was made. the nfl kicks off the season right here at number bay area at 5:00. startling information regarding head injuries. the information changing the way the game is played.

well, it's been a struggle for the bay area's biggest gaming company so they're taking another shot at it tonight. >> zynga g a going back to the that launched the company. we have the newest farmville, and zynga needs a help. >> social gaming was supposed to be the next big thing, but zynga has stumbled and needs a big success. it's a new farm powered by the

late latest technology with big goals. >> we want it to be the best five or ten minutes of the player's day. >> reporter: farmville 2, sequel to the game that helped launch online social gaming and zynga along with it staggers to a stock price less than a third of what it was when it went public, zynga needs a hit more than ever. >> any game you make, there's a lot of pressure. for this one it was really just about trying to imagine can we reignite people's passion for farming. >> say this about the company. it's still passionate about games, giving us a back sfaj look at how they crafted every turkey and cow in the new farmville, letting you play in 3d where now even the crops sway in the breeze. >> we put everything we can into this game, and we're, you know,

anxiously awaiting to see the response we get. >> although no longer a startup, zynga still brings dogs to work. in fact, this one, named stuc y stuckey, was the inspiration for this goat in the new farmville. >> so the animation team actually studied stuckey and used his movements and inspiration in the creation of the red goat in our game. >> the story has been rocky here, but zynga insists it's still having fun and wants you to keep playing, too. in fact, it's betting the farm that you will. zynga says 3 million people a day log in to play the original farmville. after the new version was launched today at noon, its share price moved higher by about 2%. janelle. in health matters tonight, today is the official kickoff of the nfl season. on this same day a new study looks at football players and their risk for brain disease. researchers studied more than 3,000 professional football players in the league for at

least five years. 10% have died since the start of the study. they found football players were three times more likely to die from diseases that damage brain cells like alzheimer's and lou gehrig's than the general population. players in speed positions were more at risk. today the nfl announced they will donate $30 million to fund brain injury research. two people are reported dead and at least ten injured after a powerful earthquake in costa rica today. the 7.6 magnitude quake shook up the western coast just before 8:00 a.m. it hit about 90 miles west of the capital city of san jose. this is video from a television state in coast ka reek ka. you can see the shaking. damage estimates are still being tallied. a tsunami warning was issued and then retracted. we had whacky weather today. let's get on a check on the forecast. >> that tropical moisture we've been tracking for six or seven days that could impact the bay area is now here. the bulk is down in southern

california. you can see here across the bay area, it's getting fired up right now. enough uplift at 300 millibars, about 2020,000 or 30,000 feet where airplanes play that it's producing more scattered showers and thunderstorms. this is the current radar as it scans around some of the strongest activity ♪ south bay. we've had reported lightning strikes in the past 15 to 30 mine nits south of down down san jose. a smaller batch of heavier rain full is moving into cam britain park and south san jose. this is around willow glenn and also south san jose with some stronger lightning strikes. right now it's light to moderate rainfall but in the south bay it's slick off the roadways kwiblt. it's a long time since we've seen rainfall like this. up in the north bay near santa rosa off to the west, we have a batch of moderate rain through the next half hour. that's the nature of what we

continue to see for tonight. it's going to be very scattered and isolated in terms of overall nature. some of that heat back into livermore with 85 could fuel pockets of thunderstorms. look outside right now, and we have some of the lift here. a bit of these clouds, you see it overall is kind of flat for parts of san jose, but we're getting those rain showers moving in. in san francisco it's a mix of some sun and clouds across downtown. a very beautiful view, but again deceiving where some severe weather components are tracking for tonight. next 48 hours the tropical moisture for the past 24 hours, that's eventually kicked off towards the east. we see it lift out of here, so we're not understand this severe weather threat for the next two to three days. about one more day of this before we begin to clear out. for thursday we keep the chance of thunder for the bay area. into friday we look at some sun and also some warmer conditions. so here's a what we can expect as we head throughout the next

24 hours. for tonight scattered showers and thunderstorms possible, maybe some hail and a few thunderstorms that develop. throughout thursday morning chance of thunderstorms for your morning compute and by the evening hours tomorrow it will be humid. we'll have a few lingering showers and then things clear out late tomorrow night. as for daytime highs we stay below where we should for this time of year, 82 in san jose, 87 in livermore, 66 in san francisco, and also 78 in santa rosa. your three-day forecast has emerged in the mid to upper 80s by sunday and for sunday we go down a little bit. next week temperatures are in the mid-80s with sun and clouds. again a word of warning. if you're in the south bay and you hear that thunder, you're close enough to be struck by lightning. it's not the time to be outside doing all your social networking. it's definitely something that people here aren't used to, so be cautious. >> stay indoors. good advice. still to come, the sharks

aren't the only hockey team in the bay area. meet the new team getting ready to play in a familiar place. so... [ gasps ]

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irnlgts the became area is about to get a news sports franchise. get ready for the san francisco bulls. >> the new team is breathing like into a old bay area venue. >> the long history includes many great incarnations, but for now it appears this famous venue's future is on ice. the 71-year-old venue is now becoming home base for the san francisco bulls, a double a hockey team affiliated with the san jose sharks. >> since i was 4 years old i've played hockey or koechled. >> he has hockey coarsing through his veins. >> ever since 2001 i always dreamed of having my own team.

>> for the last year they have dumped over $2 million into the aging cal palace installing a 17-foot scoreboard, ice makers and flat screen tvs and a modern vengs called the internet. >> we had to wire this place with all the different things, but we finally brought it up to the modern age. >> starting in october the team will play more than 70 games this season, 36 at home. it's giving a needed boost to the state-owned facility that faced possible closure several years ago. >> everybody has fond memories of cal palace, and they are rooting for it to be able to survive and come back. the bulls are a big, big part of that comeback. >> the sharks played their first two seasons in the cal palace in the early '90s. there are hopes the bulls will earn a place in the display case of teams who made a home out of the palace.

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a big congratulations to 49ers head coach jim harbaugh. he and his wife are celebrating the birth of their baby boy. the planned c section happened yesterday on the 49ers day off. this is the couple's third child and first son. by the way, dad will be leaving town this week. the 49ers season opener is in green bay on sunday. tonight the cowboys take on the new york giants on "nbc bay area news." we'll see you right after the game. good night.